What better way to stop the San Jose Sharks from completing a very successful road trip than a visit to Las Vegas to play the Golden Knights? The Sharks wrap up the six-game road trip in Sin City tonight. San Jose has gone 3-2-0 on this trip away from SAP Center and could end it above .500 with something as simple as loss in overtime or the shootout.
Vegas, of course, would love to add one to the win column against the league’s worst team. The Golden Knights could use it. Other teams have closed the gap since Vegas’ torrid start to the season. In fact, the Golden Knights have gone a middling 6-3-4 since the last time these two teams played on Nov. 10. It’s allowed the Vancouver Canucks to close the gap on the top spot in the Pacific Division. The Canucks are just four points back in the race and have played just as many games as the Golden Knights. The Los Angeles Kings are five points back and have four games in hand on Vegas. In other words, LA is very much in the playoff race.
The “Tale of the Tide” isn’t great news for the Sharks:
Sunday night hockey 🔜 pic.twitter.com/W22SLpccrx
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 10, 2023
The Golden Knights have almost a goal more at 5-on-5 than the Sharks. Vegas’ penalty kill and power play are also much better than the Sharks.
Vegas’ top scorer is Jack Eichel, who has 31 points and leads the team with 12 goals. Meanwhile, Tomas Hertl leads San Jose in all the points categories. Hertl has 23 points this season and 9 goals.
San Jose Sharks lines
Defenseman Henry Thrun was recalled from the San Jose Barracuda over the weekend. Meanwhile, Head Coach David Quinn says Luke Kunin will not be an option. These were the lines from last game. That doesn’t factor in Thrun. If someone sits to let Thrun play, it’s likely Okhotiuk. I can’t see Quinn wanting too many young and developing defensemen at one time.
Forwards
William Eklund – Tomas Hertl – Alexander Barabanov
Anthony Duclair – Mikael Granlund – Fabian Zetterlund
Justin Bailey – Nico Sturm – Kevin Labanc
Jacob MacDonald – Filip Zadina – Mike Hoffman
Defensemen
Mario Ferraro – Kyle Burroughs
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Calen Addison
Nikita Okhotiuk – Jan Rutta
Goaltenders
Kaapo Kahkonen
Mackenzie Blackwood
Vegas Golden Knights lines
The Golden Knights will be without 1A goaltender Adin Hill. Hill was injured on Nov. 30 against the Vancouver Canucks and was pulled for “precautionary reasons.” Hill has not played since that game. In his place, Jiri Patera was called up and Logan Thompson has started a majority of the games. Thompson is 3-0-1 since taking over, but given the Sharks’ position in the league, it’s possible that the team gets a dose of Patera tonight.
According to Daily Faceoff, these are the lines we can expect to see tonight from the Golden Knights:
Forwards
Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Mark Stone
Brett Howden – Chandler Stephenson – Jonathan Marchessault
Paul Cotter – William Karlsson – Pavel Dorofeyev
Will Carrier – Nicolas Roy – Keegan Kolesar
Defensemen
Ben Hutton – Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb – Kaedan Korczak
Nicolas Hague – Zach Whitecloud
Goaltenders
Jiri Patera
Logan Thompson
How to watch San Jose Sharks at Vegas Golden Knights
Tonight’s game will be broadcast regionally on NBCSCA. Streaming is available with a subscription to ESPN+ (blackout restrictions may apply). The game is also set to air on the NHL Network. The radio call will be streamed through the Sharks Audio Network. Golden Knights fans can watch the game on Vegas 34, on the KnightTime+ app or listen on Fox Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340 and Deportes Vegas 1460.
The game starts at 7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET at T-Mobile Arena.
Check back then to follow along with all of the play-by-play action in the comment section below!
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